ATENEO gets a chance to play in its home court on Saturday when it hosts University of Santo Tomas at the newly refurbished Blue Eagle Gym.
But in coach Tab Baldwin’s eyes, it’s hardly a home court.
“I'm not even sure it's a home court yet. It's home in the sense that it's the campus that we go to every day,” he said, with the team usually training at Moro Lorenzo Sports Center, also located inside the campus.
READ: No jabs from Tab when it comes to UAAP officiating
The Blue Eagles have only practiced at the BEG this week, taking the court on Thursday in preparation for the crucial tiff that will see movements at the top of the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball standings.
Two years have been spent to renovate the gymnasium starting in September 2023, with it being formally re-opened just last week.
Yet for Baldwin, the only reason that Ateneo will get a homecourt advantage is if the fans show up and paint the venue blue.
“I think if there's any chance that it will be a home court, it's if the crowd really turns out, if the student body really comes and turns that place into a special event for the day for the team. But is it going to be a distraction? We don't want that,” he said.
Indeed, the 4-1 Blue Eagles want to have the crowd behind them for that tiff against the 3-1 Growling Tigers as the blue-and-white seek a bounce back victory after tasting their first loss at the hands of University of the Philippines.
These talks, however, are the least of concerns for the American-Kiwi mentor.
“I spent 35 years coaching in leagues where every game was a home or away game,” he said.
“I don't really believe in that so much, unless you've got a rabid crowd like the Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke, unless they're intimidating which I don't really think is the case here. I don't really put too much stock in the home court thing.”
Baldwin even joked that Ateneo’s homecourt might very well be UST’s Quadricentennial Pavilion with the Blue Eagles going 5-0 in the Espana venue for the last three seasons.
“We were undefeated at UST, so you know maybe that's our home court,” he joked. “I think they've got a great facility over there. I've been jealous of UST's facility for a few years. I'm jealous, but now we've got a really good one too.”
As nice of a feeling as these “home games” may be for the USTs and Ateneos, Baldwin argued that nothing can compare to games being played at bigger venues like Smart Araneta Coliseum and SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“That's not a criticism. But I think one of the special things about Philippine basketball and the UAAP is that there isn't a home and away and then we play it with these neutral venues, neutral crowds, and they're world-class stadiums on top of it,” he said.
Baldwin even posited that the familiarity of the Filipino players being exposed in these cavernous venues better prepare them for high-stakes situations, most notably for those being called up for the national team as the gravity of the venue no longer faze them being used to these conditions.
“I think our Gilas team performs internationally pretty well at times because they're used to big crowds, big occasions, coming out of the UAAP and even the NCAA," he said.
Whereas if you go to these other countries and you go into their pro leagues, unless they're at the top level and I've coached in many of these leagues, you're playing in front of 1,500, 2,000 people, and it's not that crazy like it is here,” he added.
“So the players, when they get into a big venue and a big occasion, a lot of times they've got to make an adjustment to that. And I don't think Filipino players worry about that at all.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
